Distant Thunder
by Authenti
Summary: Semele, the lightning goddess, has arisen for the first time into a world which reveres her. The struggle for power begins with discontent at what you have... but there's always an outside influence. Rated just in case.
1. Calm Before The Storm

Power surged into emptiness, emanating from a point of silver light. Like it was being pulled by a magnetic force, the light suddenly began to filter through a black tapestry of stars. It entered the universe, and gained an awareness…

Eden called out to it, and it responded by plummeting into the planet's atmosphere. There was a bright flash of light and suddenly she was in the shape of a human. Long, silvery hair cascaded down her back, a thin and flowing nightgown airbrushed itself over her frame, and then with a spark of electricity, the shape of a lightning bolt appeared in front of her. She grasped one point like a sword hilt, and then moved it over her shoulder in an arc. When she let go, it remained floating at her spine.

A name. She would need a name. The new goddess waltzed in the sky, enjoying her new freedom of movement, and her feet skimmed the clouds.

There was something she had to do, first. A mortal had gotten itself in peril; this was why she had come into the world, and she feared she would be returned to the ether if she didn't fulfil this first promise.

The goddess stopped twirling, reached the edge of a cloud and allowed gravity to pull her down. This world was intriguing. Air rushed past her face and she finally opened her eyes for the first time – a glow of pure white glinted off the shining sea below, and she turned herself the right way up just in time to slow down and begin skimming the water in leaps and bounds.

The child came into view, and forgot his fear for a brief moment to gaze up in awe at what he saw as a glimmering lightning bolt insignia hovering above him. The sharks seemed to forget about their prey, and merely wheeled away dizzily to return to the depths of the ocean.

There was a gentle hand touching his, and the child allowed the deity to pull him up firmly until he was standing on a clear, glassy pathway that had appeared out of nowhere. He turned to stare back up at her, and she smiled encouragingly.

"Semele!" came a voice from the shore. "It is Semele! Our prayers have been answered! The prophecy was _true_!"

The goddess floated silently behind the child as he stepped cautiously along the shining bridge to land, the magical walkway vanishing behind her, and she alit on the beach. The child ran back to his parents, and the reunion was a joyous one.

Her lip curled.

_Sickening._


	2. End Of An Era

Semele looked over the land she had been brought into from atop a blurry white cloud. She was floating right over her temple; stretching out a hand, she interrupted the steady pulse of blood-coloured light and watched the shadows dance on the sky above as she twisted her fingers into hooked claws.

It was time. She slipped down from the cloud and after a while she felt her foot gently touch earth. A flash of white in the corner of her vision to contrast the blue haze that she herself cast across the ground.

"Good afternoon," came an echoing voice from that direction, and the vague form of her good conscience appeared.

"Ya mean, good night. It'll be night forever by the time we're done-"

"Calm down, I'm sure she can choose for herself." He smiled pleasantly. Semele mentally threw a brick at him, which he dodged. "Ah… Er…"

"See? Told ya she'd be evil. You owe me thirty bucks." The demonic imp grinned maliciously and held out a hand. The good conscience sighed and forked over some glowing coins.

"I assume you're going to introduce yourselves?" Semele cut in, voice used for the first time.

"Ah – yes, we are your conscience."

"Good and Evil."

"Black and Whi-"

"Yes, yes, I understand," she butted in sharply. "I would prefer if you used formalities, by the way."

"What, ya mean like 'miss'?" Evil's eyes glinted in disdain. "Not gonna happen."

"I wasn't talking to you," she hissed. He turned, and saw Sable the creature trainer babbling incoherent mortal garbage at Semele.

"Gate Stone…? There was a tiger head by the valley entrance."

"Yes, that's one. Retrieve it, and bring it back here to place on the pedestal." Sable nodded sagely at this piece of advice, but quickly realised there were now two Gate Stones aligned perfectly on the platform. "…Oh. Yes. Well, the last could be a problem. You see-"

Semele read her mind for the rest of the information, leaving Sable looking quite shaken as the goddess left a shimmering white trail on her journey to the stone quarry. Finding the rock she needed, the deity flew effortlessly back to the village and dropped it neatly outside his house. The man emerged looking confused.

"Sable seemed to hold you in high regard as far as craftsmanship goes," she explained. "I need a Gate Stone made out of this."

The sculptor rubbed his eyes and yawned-

"Before you ask, no, I do not wish to wait for you to finish your afternoon nap." She picked up a smaller rock from nearby and it hovered above his house ominously. "Work hard. If there is so much as a hairline crack in the finished piece, it will join this boulder lodged in your kitchen." She slowly set the other rock down on a slightly raised piece of land by his house where he could see it and floated away leaving the bewildered sculptor to his work.

Evil flashed up in her vision again. "Whoa, you're gettin' the hang of this," he remarked. Good gave him a sour look and vanished to go and sulk somewhere in the corner of Semele's mind.

---

The days passed quickly. She chose her Creature once the gates were open – and she chose the tiger, admiring how its claws shone and its tail lashed angrily like a whip. Semele learned many things about Eden; she learned how the village worked, she learned of her worshippers, and she learned of the smaller village shadowed by the mountains nearby. The huge lion that had been strolling along the pass took the opportunity to tutor her whenever possible, until the day came that she took over her second village and taught her tiger to fight.

Semele stood before him, her own Creature on the rope leash that she had wound around her wrist cowering behind her. She sighed. One day she would teach that cat about courage.

"Are you ready to learn this?" the lion enquired. She nodded firmly.

"I consider myself a fully-fledged deity. If not now, then when? There is nothing more for me to do on this land. I crave new knowledge."

"Then let us proceed. Follow me, and bring your Creature. He must understand the importance of this as well." The lion turned and strode powerfully up the cliff path. Semele watched him for a brief moment, wondering if her tiger would ever reach that size. Then she began the ascent, trying to ignore the enraged bellowing of the Ogre in the valley below that her Tiger had defeated only the day before.

It all happened as if she was watching it through a telescope – as if she wasn't really there. Guide was attacked with a booming lightning bolt from the sky, right after babbling something about a Creed. He acted like a lightning rod, and some of the energy channelled off onto her tiger. Both collapsed.

Then the fall of her village began. Mortals ran screaming, in a panic. She flitted to and fro, unable to do anything but watch. She tried water miracles on the fires that the lightning kept causing, but it just kept happening too fast for her to keep up with. But then…

"Look! Over there!" Good called, attracting her attention. Something flashed from the ground, and a huge swirling vortex appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Thinking fast, Semele hurled a villager into it. Seconds later, the man surfaced again shouting something about a new world… Semele set her teeth and looked to her conscience for support. The two sides nodded at her, and she set to work.

Her tiny empire was burning, and the learning curve was steepening.

"Nemesis," she snarled up at the sky; "I will live to destroy you. I vow it."


	3. A Different Way

Khazar waited worriedly by the edge of his small kingdom. Restless, he found himself flying back and forth, from his land to the vortex and back again. A waste of energy that he should be conserving, but he couldn't help it. The portal had been open for a day and a night; bewildered mortals, stacks of supplies and hundreds of one-shot miracles for healing, lightning and creature strength had poured through into this world so far. But it looked as though the steady stream was lessening; a young tiger Creature pounced out of the vortex and landed on all fours. Just as he wondered if it had stopped, there was an almighty screech, like a vast eagle's cry…

With a blaze of flickering blue light, a whirring of wings and another scream, what looked like a huge electrified phoenix burst through the portal just as Khazar's strength failed him and the vortex began to close.

The bird gave out a strangled cry and crashed to the ground beak-first beside the miniature tiger Creature, coughing, sparking electricity. Before his eyes, the wings wrapped around the phoenix and in a burst of celestial feathers it transformed into a human shape, slender hands clutching at the ground for support.

"Ugh…" She almost collapsed, but managed to steady herself just in time. She noticed her dress was ripped, and made a note to reform it into something more practical later. "How… how the hell could anyone be that powerful…?" she mused, trying to steady her ragged breathing.

Khazar stared at her in shock. He had not expected this. At all. The last time there had been a female god in Eden was… well, he didn't like to think. Probably before Nemesis made his attempt to eradicate all other gods. He waited patiently for her to right herself.

Semele forced herself to stand up, her Creature hovering around nearby looking unhappily at her.

"Semele… look! There's another god!" her good conscience whispered. She whirled around and came face to face with a weakly-lit symbol.

"Boy, he doesn't look so good…" Evil commented.

"State your intentions," she commanded, regaining her stability and her regal air.

Khazar backed off slightly, but steeled himself. "Greetings. I am Khazar. I was the one who created the vortex in order to save you from Nemesis." Please, please let her be on his side… what if he was wrong? What if Nemesis was just punishing her as he did all his other 'allies'? What if she was just another pawn in his army?

Semele gave him a critical once-over with glowing white eyes. Her expression seemed to soften.

"Then you have my thanks." Khazar let out a sigh of relief that he didn't realise he had been holding. "My name is Semele. I favour lightning… though not in the case of my unfortunate village back there." She eyed the place where the vortex had been just a few minutes ago. "To the point, then. Do you have a particular reason for aiding me?"

"I… would like to say no. I would have helped you in any case. However, I do need your help, if you would be willing to give it."

"Don't do it, boss. You don't owe this guy anything!" Evil insisted, but for the first time she shoved him aside.

"I will return your favour," she smiled. Khazar's light seemed to brighten for a moment.

"Follow me." He turned and flew in the direction of his village. Semele drifted close behind and they stopped over the centre of his Influence. "My lands are in danger from a neighbouring god named Lethys. We have struggled against each other for so long that I fear I am weakening. Nemesis himself has restored Lethys to full strength, and… I cannot cope. My people's belief is weakening, and I with it."

Semele's expression was distant, but she was listening. "Is this why you've reverted to your symbol form?"

Khazar dimmed again. "…Yes… though I hardly think that matters right now."

"I understand." She narrowed her eyes at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. She thought she could make out a vague blueish glow hovering over a small town in the mountains' shadows. "I will side with you," she declared, turning back to face Khazar. "Maybe I can take his attention from your lands and force him to focus on me for a while."

"I wouldn't want to put you in danger-"

"Hush." She drew the lightning bolt shape from where it had been floating at her back, and held it like a blade. "I can deal with a lesser god than Nemesis. It will prove to be good practise." Semele watched, intrigued, as Khazar picked up a wooden scaffold from his workshop and began to carry it across the sea.

His symbol glinted at her. "Come. I have much to teach you."

---

The next few days passed without incident. Semele learnt Gestures, and Khazar found that she picked up the Shield miracle exceedingly fast. However, it took her a while to aim a Fireball correctly…

"This is why I prefer Lightning," she muttered irritably, after the _n_th time trying to strike the huts on the island. "Less aiming and more light shows."

Khazar sighed. "Here, you're trying too hard." He reached out and guided her hand with his consciousness. "Try it smoother and not so fast. That way, the fireball will fly lower and you can predict where it will land a lot more easily."

Semele watched the huts burn and felt Khazar withdraw from her aura. "I'm sorry."

"No… it's fine. I can't cast lightning very well either. In that respect, I suppose we're balanced." There was a short pause. Semele shifted awkwardly. "Well, that's enough for today. I'm sure you'll pick it up tomorrow."

Semele watched him leave and then turned to the village closest to hers. She had made an attempt to convert it earlier, but… her heart hadn't been in it. The goddess stared at the hand that Khazar had controlled so briefly. Maybe… Maybe she was going about this the wrong way. Slow down and think things through.

The goddess floated over to the heathen village and stared at the village centre. The place looked kind of packed. Apparently they'd gathered to see her Creature dance. This was a good opportunity, she realised. With so many in one place, more would see what she was doing.

Semele tapped a one-shot Heal miracle from the stockpile around the back of her temple, feeling the surface break and the power flow into her hand. She returned to the pagan village and waited for her tiger to finish dancing. He stared up at her expectantly; just as the villagers were about to return to their homes, she alit on the ground beside a woman and her child. The child was in the middle of a coughing fit and his mother was rubbing his back sorrowfully.

Semele grimaced at the pitiful sight. She really couldn't stand it when weak people were cared for. Where had natural selection gone? Nevertheless… she wanted this village. Semele focused her power into her right hand and held it out towards the child. He straightened up, feeling himself enveloped in a white light, and with surprise realised his throat didn't hurt.

The other villagers looked on in awe. Semele watched them carefully. They turned and stared up at her, seeing her as just a lightning bolt symbol, and muttering broke out amongst their ranks.

The boy and his parents knelt in front of her, already pledging their allegiance. The others would take more work, but… this felt good, having people respect her so valiantly.

Maybe she should take over this village kindly, and save her lightning one-shots for later. It would be a tip of the hat to Khazar, who seemed to place so much value on being good. He had taught her so much… the least she could do was try to do things his way. Semele nodded to herself, deep in thought.

Yes. She would do things his way.


	4. Thinking

Semele sat back on the mountainside, one hand supporting her chin. Her all-white eyes cast a glowing haze over the ground below as she stared at the assortment of trees that were mocking her mind.

"Come on… there has to be an easier way." She plucked one from the ground, and it vanished. In its place grew another of a different type, and the other trees beside it did the same. "Augh… I'm so bad at puzzles." _What if I destroyed them all?_

The goddess flew off to her temple and returned a few seconds later with a one-shot Lightning miracle bubble. The surface broke over her hand and she cast it over the trees.

They burnt for a short while, then glowed and reformed just as they had been a few moments before. Semele growled.

A twinkle of golden light caught her eye, and she looked up.

"The problem with lightning is that acts too quickly. This is much the same with you, I think." Khazar's symbol glittered briefly. "Try thinking about it for a while before you act."

Semele sighed. "I didn't come here to hear you mock me as well."

"I assure you, that is not my intention."

"Can't you just solve this for me?"

Khazar laughed. "But then how would you learn?" He turned and glided across the sea, returning to his own lands.

_Think about it, hmm? _Semele stared at the puzzle again and uprooted some trees in a corner. She paused. _Aha!_

---

Lethys stared at the village that had once been his. Just moments before, he had watched the young goddess unleash a magical flock of birds upon these villagers. That had been enough to tip the balance in her favour, and they now believed in her!

Lethys glared at her, his symbol flickering menacingly. "You took land from me!" he called. "I do not forgive such things easily!"

"I don't expect you to. I'm not inclined to forgive you for the problems you've caused my ally, either." She tapped another lightning bubble and faced him with her right hand crackling with energy. "Leave my Influence, Lethys."

"How did you acquire that knowledge?" he hissed, watching her villagers turn in awe to face the birds whose wings clapped the air overhead.

"I solved a puzzle," she explained, looking sly. "I suggest you _think very carefully _about your next move."

Lethys let out a ragged cry of disbelief as she held up her lightning-charged hand and aimed it at him. He turned and fled back to his temple, where he stood watching her from a distance. He would get his revenge on that girl. How could she have done anything like this, when she was clearly a new god with so little experience!?

No, he would not stand for this. That female was going to pay for her actions.


	5. Alone

Khazar sighed tiredly, hovering by the back of his temple and staring past the cliffs out to sea. The water was glittering. It was one of the many sights he would miss when eventually he was returned to the void.

He felt a presence nearby, and whirled around in shock, ready to dodge anything Lethys threw at him-

"Sorry. I didn't mean to surprise you."

Khazar relaxed, exhaling in relief. "That's… that's quite alright."

"May I join you?" the goddess enquired, keeping her distance in case the answer was no.

"You may."

She smiled and approached, floating motionlessly in the air beside him. The sunset was reflecting off her dress, turning it a pale peach colour with golden highlights.

Khazar tore his gaze away from her with another sigh. To have that much power again…

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked, after a silence that felt like it had lasted for hours.

"…No."

"That's a very pessimistic answer for you, Khazar."

"My time is coming to an end. There is nothing anyone can do."

Semele turned and put a hand on the side of his temple, gazing down at the village in the valley below. Khazar's symbol fluttered with light briefly, but he hid it quickly and floated in front of her.

"Off," he commanded gruffly. Semele obliged and withdrew her hand from the building, looking sheepish.

"Sorry."

There was another long moment of quiet in which they both returned to watching the sunset. It was almost over, and night was fast approaching.

Khazar cleared his throat awkwardly. "How are you doing with the converting, anyway?"

Semele grinned confidently, eyes twinkling. "I'm doing quite well. Lethys is getting worried, if you want to put it that way."

"Good. Keep working at it."

"I do have a pressing question, though." She refused to look at him. Why?

Khazar edged away uneasily. "Ask away."

She hesitated, then glanced over her shoulder at the valley again. "If your people still believe in you, then you should be safe, right? No matter what happens?"

Khazar thought about this. She seemed genuinely interested, even if they were talking about such depressing matters as the death of gods. So she wasn't joking…

"…Not necessarily," he began. "If another god destroys your temple, then all you have left is the power you already had. Because your temple is the only way to channel belief into you, it doesn't matter if you have a whole continent under your control. You can't harness the power from belief any longer – it simply won't work."

Semele bit her lip. "Oh." She shut her eyes for a while against the final rays of the sinking sun. "What if your people build you another temple?"

"It would have to be done before the god dies. After that…" He trailed off. She understood well enough.

"…Well… I'm going to go back to my temple. I'll teach my Creature to use Heal. He'll need it."

"What have you named that tiger, anyway?" She turned back and gave him an odd look. "To my knowledge, I haven't heard you calling him by name."

Semele blinked. "Oh." She thought for a while. "I don't remember naming him. I didn't see a reason to. Why," she added hurriedly, "do you think I should?"

Khazar turned back to watch the horizon. "It's up to you. It doesn't matter."

Semele shrugged and flew across the sea to her temple.

---

The sky darkened. It was already nightfall, but everything was now fixed in a red mist. Beams of light shot down from the sky, annihilating the village.

Khazar could only look on, helpless, as his empire crumbled and broke into pieces like glass struck by a bullet. He retreated to his temple, calling his creature to join him there, but Nemesis just swooped down and unleashed his most powerful attack on the temple, destroying it for good.

"Semele!" he cried out, seeing her rushing to his aid in the form of a phoenix – just like the night they had first met. "Stay away!"

The bird hovered, confused, then tried to dart forwards again. Khazar focused on the edges of his dwindling Influence and forced her back. Her beak opened in a screech of horror as Nemesis converged on Khazar and launched a spear of light through his symbol. The already-weakened god screamed in pain.

"_Khazar!_" Semele shrieked. The barrier shattered and her vast wings beat against the air, propelling her forwards. A megablast struck the ground right in front of her, sending her tumbling backwards, but she righted herself and dodged others as she flew up to where his temple had been, and where Khazar himself was lingering still.

"Semele," came a booming, twisted voice. "Defying me will only bring ruin. I will spare you for now, but I cannot say the same for your pathetic ally!"

She felt claws around her wings, binding her, and she crashed to the ground, struggling against Lethys' bladed hands. He laughed cruelly in her ear.

"Going somewhere?"

"Leave Khazar alone!" she yelled, beak suddenly changing to a cruel, serrated hook shape. Lethys cried out as she bit into his aura, dragging at it. He released her, and she rose up to breathlessly rush to Khazar's side.

"Go," he said, breath coming in ragged gasps. "Just… go. Forget about me… Nemesis will destroy you-"

"No," Nemesis corrected him, "I already stated that I would leave her for now. She is no threat to me. Just another little lapdog as far as destiny is concerned." Semele felt a hand ruffling the feathers that plumed from her head, and turned angrily to try and bite. Nemesis merely laughed and struck her with the edge of his energy spear. Then he plunged the tip of it into Khazar's symbol. He withdrew it to reveal the glow dying and vanishing.

…_That's it?_

_That's all he had to do?_

_Struck twice and my ally is gone?_

Semele fell to the ground as her humanoid form, staring at the space in the air where Khazar had been wiped out.

Her conscience was panicking. They kept trying to get her attention, pointing to the Creed that Lethys' Creature was collecting. She ignored them. It didn't matter; not right now.

Who was she supposed to learn from? Who would teach her? Whose Influence would she use to her advantage other than her own?

Semele felt truly alone for the first time.


	6. Learning

The villagers looked on in awe as a shining blue light appeared in the sky. A few cringed, wondering if it was Lethys… but the symbol was different. It swooped towards the cliff where the temple had once stood and the people stared as it began tracing something on the ground.

The scars on the landscape looked as if they had been created by vast talons, but the people were not afraid. Khazar had taught them peaceful ways, and they understood not to be fearful of one who did not immediately attack them.

One man stepped forwards, examining the lines left on the floor carefully.

"This is… This is Khazar's symbol," he gasped.

An echo of a female voice came out of nowhere, powerful and commanding. "Never forget him," Semele told them. "Always keep the memory of his kindness, and of his power."

"Who are you? Are you a god, too?" a small child asked, joining his father in walking forwards and staring up at the glowing lightning shape.

"My name is of no importance. My motive is to avenge Khazar. Remain faithful to him, or I will return and wreak havoc upon your world. Keep his memory safe through the ages." With that, the goddess was gone. The villagers puzzled over her commands for quite some time.

---

Days later. Much had happened. Lethys had soon found his villages picked off one by one. Her powers frightened him. How could she have become so strong in so little time? She had only been summoned to Eden merely a week ago, as far as he could tell!

Lethys watched his temple begin to crumble. So she was at his gates. Fine. He would take matters into his own hands.

He took her creature, and fled through a portal to another land. She pursued him immediately, and somehow built up an empire from nothing. He used fire and wild animals against her, and then his creature… nothing was working. She was just too determined. What could possible motivate her to strike so often, so fast and so strong?

And then he knew.

"Destroying me will not bring Khazar back."

Lightning, fired in his direction. Missed.

"I must say, you excel with that particular miracle."

A fireball. Missed entirely. She wasn't even looking at him.

"I'd stop that, if I were you."

She was just… _sitting _there. Staring. Watching the sunset.

There was a long silence.

"Do you miss him?"

Her eyes widened, and her head finally snapped round to stare at him. Her expression was unreadable, but then her eyes narrowed.

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get out of my Influence before I destroy you right now. I've tried to give you a sporting chance, because revenge is a dish best served cold. But you try my patience. Leave."

"So you _are _doing this for him," he muttered bitterly. "I don't even know what you saw in him."

"He taught me when no one else was there to teach. He saved me from Nemesis. And he stood up for himself for so long… against _you._" She rose from the hillside, eyes burning in rage.

Lethys eyed her coldly and then left. He was in symbol form, and she realised that he had been since she followed him here. She must have dealt severe damage to make him that weak.

But her proud smirk faded quickly. As much as she hated Lethys, he was right. This wouldn't bring Khazar back. Not that that was her intention. She wanted revenge; it would put her mind at ease.

---

Lethys choked back his pride. His believers were failing him… everything was falling to ruin. He was finished.

With each passing moment, he felt himself grow weaker. Semele flitted back and forth from her temple, and no matter what he did, he could not prevent her from somehow gaining more belief from his worshippers. His shields didn't last long; she would just wait there, right next to it, mocking him with her very presence. He could see the fire of hatred in her eyes, and it terrified him.

Semele charged up another miracle, this time a Heal type. They would regret the day they ever chose to worship that _evil, lying-_

"_Stop!_"

"What the-?"

"Please!" Lethys flung himself in front of her, symbol dim and barely recognisable. "Your power is great and I have little strength!"

She growled at him, a cruel glint in her eyes.

"I don't know what you're trying to do here, but it won't work."

"I'm being sincere! Spare me, and I will give you everything…" His voice trailed off, faint and hoarse. "Here. It is the Creed from Khazar's Creature. It is yours."

Semele realised that her Creature was hypnotised again, striding towards Lethys. She made a move to stop him, but something made her hang back.

Lethys struggled to raise the three pillars once more, and quickly imbued her tiger with a fragment of the Creed. Once finished, the pillars shot back down again and his heavy breathing told her what an effort it had been.

"There is another Creed in a land you have once known. Use this vortex," he added, hovering over a patch of clear land and opening a whirlwind passage. "Find the Creed there. It is yours. But I beg you," he cried; "please, let me keep my last village. Without it, I will be banished to the Void!" His voice cracked at the end, and he lapsed into silence. He gasped in horror as Semele raised her hand, laden with a lightning miracle…

_What am I doing?_

Her hand fell to her side.

This is wrong…

She fell to her knees.

…I just…

The goddess wept.

There was a deep silence. Blurred vision gave way to darkness as she buried her face in her hands.

Lethys wavered in front of her, at a loss. What was he supposed to do? For the first time in years, he felt… empathy. Regret, even, at what he had helped to do.

Semele felt a hand on her back; a presence beside her. Heard a sigh of regret.

Learned forgiveness.


End file.
